Charlie Gard’s parents end fight for treatment

Charlie Gard’s parents ended their bid to get an experimental treatment for their 11-month-old son today after doctors determined he had irreversible muscular damage. Lawyer Grant Armstrong blamed the long delay in treating Charlie for ending his chance at life: “It’s too late for Charlie. The damage has been done.” While Armstrong made his statement during today’s London High Court hearing, Chris Gard and Connie Yates sat nearby, weeping. Gard and Yates began a legal fight for their son’s treatment earlier this year after doctors at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital said they would shut off the baby’s life support. The court previously sided with the hospital but agreed earlier this month to reconsider after learning a U.S. geneticist thought he might be able to help the baby. Yates told the court Monday they “only wanted to give him a chance of life.’' Charlie has a rare genetic condition, mitochondrial depletion syndrome, that left him unable to move or breathe on his own. His parents wanted to take him to the United States for treatment, but British officials refused to give him permission to leave the country. Last week, a U.S. doctor traveled to London to examine Charlie in person. Armstrong told the court nothing more could be done for the baby.